Cleaning up the meter memo mess occupied a lot of heads Monday and raised a lot of hackles in the process.

"You're going to keep me from coming in?" said Councilman Charlie Winburn outside the 6th Street building that houses the Port Authority.

"Sir, this is not public property," came the response from building security personnel.

Merely trying to deliver a letter became a case study in conflict management.

Labeling it "amazing," Winburn blurted, "We pay the bills for all of you."

It didn't matter.

He got as far as the front security desk, learning that Laura Brunner of the Port Authority had exercised enough authority to deny access to a publicly elected city official.

The city appoints half the Port Authority board and helps fund the agency.

The dustup stems from a memo sent by Walker Parking, the city's consulting firm, to two economic development officials.

The memo suggests the lease is not the great deal it's cracked up to be.

It didn't surface until now, well after City Council approved the plan.

That doesn't sit well with Wendell Young, who voted to approve the deal, or with P.G. Sittenfeld, who opposed it.

"If a given memo or a given document doesn't agree with your agenda, that doesn't mean you conceal it and hide it," said an incredulous Sittenfeld. "I think that this is pretty indicting for the city administration to have keep something hidden."

After gathering more information about the situation, Young said "the administration is going to have to answer for that."

Young said he felt left out, and said this is a poor way for the city to conduct business.

"This is a poor way to conduct business."

The city's vice mayor is also bothered by the way the memo surfaced. Roxanne Qualls said it should have been shared with Council. She also indicated the Port Authority's response to the Walker memo is also quite relevant to the understanding of the dispute.

The Port Authority disputes many of the findings in the Walker Parking study. It says a team of experts has been assembled to review the lease terms and a detailed report will be ready in early September.

That is the bottom-line dollar aspect of the review.

There is still the matter of leaving City Council uninformed about the existence of the memo in the first place.

"I think that one could say it's consistent with the administration's ineptitude in handling this whole situation," said Qualls, who is running for mayor this fall.

Another mayoral candidate, John Cranley, was joined by a diverse array of candidates from multiple parties and backgrounds at the Port Authority's door Monday afternoon, letter in hand, to ask the Port Authority to reconsider the arrangement.

Even though city supplies funding and appoints half the board, the Port Authority, living up its name, flexed its authority.

"They are refusing to let us in the building and it's very disturbing as it relates to the transparency and openness that they claim to do," Cranley said.

Winburn is looking to call a special session of City Council this week to get an understanding from the administration about why the memo was not shared.

He would also like a better understanding of why an elected official would be denied access to a quasi-public agency he supports.

THE WAY ON THIS ONE ALL DAY-- TRACKING THE NEW CONTROVERSY OVER CINCINNATI'S PARKING PLAN. ...FROM A MISPLACED MEMO.. TO PUBLIC OFFICIALS.. LOCKED OUT BY A PUBLIC AGENCY!... WLWT NEWS 5'S JOHN LONDON IS LIVE TO EXPLAIN THE FUSS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT TRANSPARENCY... AND ACCESS TO INFORMATION CONCERNING THE LEASE OF PARKING METERS... IT DEVOLVED INTO A CONFLICT OVER COMMON COURTESY. A day of damage control in parking plan circles. Cleaning up the meter memo mess... And raising a lot of hackles in the process. (Charlie Winburn and unidentified building security) ("And you're going to keep me from coming in?") ("Sir, this is not public property.") ("This is who?") ("This is private property.") Merely trying to deliver a letter became a study in conflict management. Councilman Charlie Winburn labeled it "amazing", saying "We pay the bills." We posted the entire memo on WLWT.com hours ago. From the city's consulting firm to economic development officials, suggesting the lease is not the great deal it's cracked up to be. The memo didn't surface until now, well after Council approved the plan. ( P G Sittenfeld - Cincinnati Council ) ("If a given memo or a given document doesn't agree with your agenda, that doesn't mean you conceal it and hide it. So, I think that this is pretty indicting for the city administration to have keep something hidden ...") (Roxanne Qualls - Vice Mayor) ("Well, of course the memo should have been shared with Council as well as the Port Authority's response to the Walker memo.") Vice Mayor Roxanne Qualls notes that response casts doubt on the consultant's figures. But, nevertheless... (Roxanne Qualls - Vice Mayor) ("I think that one could say it's consistent with the administration's ineptitude in handling this whole situation.") Mayoral candidate John Cranley was joined by an array of leading lights at the Port's door, letter in hand. Even though city supplies funding and appoints half the board, the Port flexed its Authority. (John Cranley - Mayoral Candidate) ("...they are refusing to let us in the building and it's very disturbing as it relates to the transparency and openness that they claim to do.") COUNCILMAN WINBURN IS SO INCENSED ABOUT IT... HE'S LOOKING TO CALL A SPECIAL SESSION THIS WEEK... THE TOPICS WOULD BE THE WITHHOLDING OF THE MEMO, THE CONSULTANT'S FINDINGS AND ACCESS TO AN AGENCY THE CITY HELPS PAY FOR. LIVE DOWNTOWN, JOHN LONDON, WLWT NEWS FIVE. THE PORT AUTHORITY HAS INDICATED IT WILL ISSUE A DETAILED REPORT ON ITS FINDINGS ABOUT THE LEASING ARRANGEMENT... ONCE ITS REVIEW PROCESS IS COMPLETE IN EARLY SEPTEMBER.